Problem with plugins after switch to 64-bit

[fromwithin]

I decided to bite the bullet and switch over to being 64-bit only. Most of my stuff these days is all done with Reaktor and Kontakt so it's not really a big deal to only use 64-bit plugins from now on.

What is a big deal though is that Tracktion seems to use the same settings file for all versions (my settings are in %USERPROFILE%AppData\Roaming\Tracktion 4 and are used by all Tracktions from v4 to v7). This means that even if I load an older 32-bit version of Tracktion (v5 or v6, for example) it tries to load the 64-bit plugins that were scanned in Tracktion 7.

Of course, that makes it a total pain in the arse to load any tracks that I created in an older version of the program as it can't find any of the plugins.

The only way I can see to do is to keep multiple version of the Tracktion.settings file and manually rename them every time I want to use a particular version of Tracktion.

Surely there's a better way than this? It's madness.

[dRowAudio]

Although we use the same settings file, there are separate lists for 32 and 64 bit plugins.
I'm not quite sure I see what the problem is though. If you load an Edit and it can't find some of the plugins it will just come up with "Plugin Missing" and obviously it won't play any sound. Isn't this what you would expect?

What's the problem with scanning a plugin in T7 and then loading T6 and it trying to load the plugin in the Edit you just created?

(On a side not, it's generally not a good idea to create Edits and go back Tracktion versions. Although we maintain forwards compatibility you are at risk of overwriting bits of your Edit if you open one created in T7 at T6).

[whyterabbyt]

The only way I can see to do is to keep multiple version of the Tracktion.settings file and manually rename them every time I want to use a particular version of Tracktion.

Surely there's a better way than this? It's madness.

Use a batch script to swap them will make it a one-click thing. You can even get the script to then run the right version of Tracktion you want.

Though Im somewhat confused as to why you're wanting to using old versions, and wouldnt just import your projects into T7 32-bit and the original 32-bit plugins.

[fromwithin]

(On a side not, it's generally not a good idea to create Edits and go back Tracktion versions. Although we maintain forwards compatibility you are at risk of overwriting bits of your Edit if you open one created in T7 at T6).

Hello. I'm not creating edits and loading them into old versions. I'm loading old edits into old 32-bit versions, but they can't find the plugins because the plugin list is from the 64-bit Tracktion 7.

I basically want to get rid of all of the old 32-bit plugin references. I had far too many and I don't want to deal with a giant plugin list anymore. For older tracks that remain unfinished I can resynthesize whatever patches were used into Reaktor, or like in the case of SampleTank, switch over from 32-bit SampleTank2 to the reimported patch bank in 64-bit SampleTank3. To do that though I have to keep switching between versions and I can't do that if the 32-bit version can't load the old tracks because it's using the streamlined plugin list that I'm using for T7 64-bit.

I'll try scanning everything into 32-bit T7 and see how it goes. At least I can copy the current settings file and revert back without having to go through the whole scanning process again.

Though Im somewhat confused as to why you're wanting to using old versions, and wouldnt just import your projects into T7 32-bit and the original 32-bit plugins.

32-bit plugins don't work on 64-bit Tracktion and I don't want to maintain two different versions. I want to get rid of all legacy 32-bit plugins and replace them with plugins that are more future-proof.

[pottering]

I think Sampletank 2 and 3 are completely different plugins and hence wouldn't load one in place of another at all, in any DAW.

T7 keeps separate lists for already scanned plugins, I keep 32bit and 64bit VSTs in separate folders, and T7 remembers the right versions (I have both 32bit and 64 bit T7 installed).

[fromwithin]

I think Sampletank 2 and 3 are completely different plugins and hence wouldn't load one in place of another at all, in any DAW.

You misunderstood. I want to update my existing unfinished tracks to fit into my solely 64-bit environment. This means switching from the old SampleTank2 to the newer SampleTank3 by selecting the same patch in SampleTank3 and copying over any settings that I modified in SampleTank2. It's very awkward to port from one plugin to another without having both open at the same time.

Once I'm done, I can free myself of the legacy of having loads of old plugins.

I'll manage. It still just seems bizarre to me that there is any settings cross-over between 32-bit and 64-bit at all considering that Tracktion doesn't directly support bridging.

I would have preferred each new version to install and have its settings be independent from previous versions and have a "migrate settings from previous version of Tracktion" option.

[pottering]

Maybe the demo version of jBridge (let's you load 32bit plugs in 64bit hosts) will be useful for you.
Demo limitations: "The demo is fully functional, except saving and loading , and it will go silent after 20 minutes."
Hopefully that's enough for you to copy the settings or at least save some time.
https://jstuff.wordpress.com/jbridge/

[dRowAudio]

I'm loading old edits into old 32-bit versions, but they can't find the plugins because the plugin list is from the 64-bit Tracktion 7.

That shouldn't be the case, as pottering says, Tracktion keeps separate plugin lists for 32 and 64 bit versions although these are shared between different Tracktion releases.

This means your 32 and 64 bit lists should be different in across every version of Tracktion.

[fromwithin]

Got that sorted now, thanks. I've added both 64-bit and 32-bit plugin folders to the scan list and it does indeed separate the two completely. And I can run 32 and 64-bit versions of T7 concurrently without it moaning.

It's a bit non-intuitive though and still seems strange that I load the 64-bit version and see the 32-bit plugin folder in the scan list, but I'm happy with it at the moment.